If I were to ask you who you are, how would you answer? Or more broadly, if I asked you who we were as a church, how would you answer? Maybe on an individual level, you'll share your daughter, your son, a husband, a wife, sharing maybe your employment status, maybe who you work for, where you work, maybe you're retired, maybe you're a student, maybe you're in school. Maybe at some point, you'll say you're a Christian, that long list of identifiers. As a church, if I were to ask you who we were, what would you say? We're a Christian church, a Protestant church, a Presbyterian church that were liturgical, were communal, were reformed, remissional, the list goes on. But I doubt, as I asked you that, you thought of yourselves or us as a church as salt of the earth and lights of the world. Our identities and our priorities that flow out of that are typically elsewhere. But Jesus, as he speaks to his disciples, here he tells them that they are salt of the earth and lights of the world. He has just told them that what the blessed life is, how they can live the good life and the character that they are to live out of. And now he concludes this first section by majoring on identity. We can think of it this way, Jesus just told them how to be blessed ones and now he tells them how they can be a blessing. And how that takes place is rooted in kingdom identity. In this passage, we're given two identity statements that illustrate how we as individuals and we as a church are to live in the world. Beneath the poetic language that Jesus uses here, he is telling us this, that Christ's kingdom is called to be a life preserving and a life presenting covenant community. And we see this in Jesus telling his disciples that they are salt and light. And so this will serve as our outline this morning. You can look at me at our first point, salt to be life preserving and we'll look at verse 13. The connotations and meaning of being salt of the earth is something that can be so easily misconstrued. If we import our current cultural uses for salt, we'll be easily misled. As Canadians, we can think that salt mixing with dirt is a good thing, especially during winter as it melts ice and gives us traction as we walk. But Jesus here is not saying, is not speaking of salt being contaminated as a good thing, that it being trampled as positive. He says that if that takes place, then salt has lost its purpose. It's not a good thing. So what is Jesus speaking of when he calls his people salt? From my study, there are three connotations that we should be aware of to understand its meaning. First, salt was used in the sacrificial system. We see this in Leviticus 2.13, Numbers 18.19 and 2 Chronicles 13.5. In the last two references, a covenant of salt is mentioned. The throwing of salt was used to confirm a covenant commitment or an agreement, similar to how we would sign a document or we'd shake hands. According to my study, throwing of salt was showing commitment. And so inversely, unflavored salt or contaminated salt is a picture of lacking covenant commitment. Thus, as Jesus speaks here, he is speaking of his people being a committed covenant community. And this is captured in our big idea and in the last few words of being a covenant community. Secondly, it carries the idea of making food savory. It is sodium chloride, it's a mineral that makes food flavorful. We use it every day or most days. And if we use a little too much, our food can actually have a level of bite to it. Thirdly, salt was culturally and societally used as a preservative. In a world without electricity and not having freezers, meat was seasoned with salt to preserve and prevent it from spoiling. We see this use of salt in the New Testament as we preach through Colossians. You might remember Paul says that our speech is to be seasoned with salt. When preaching that passage, I said that our speech should be beneficial for one another. And so that gets at a aspect of what Jesus is speaking about. But what Jesus is telling his people here is that they are to be a community of distinction in this world. That they are to speak and live in a way that leads to life being beneficial to those around them. Specifically, preserving what is good around them. In this, Jesus is making a statement both about who his followers are and who they are to be, and who they are to be, but also what the world is like around them. In being a preservative, he's making a statement that the world around them is dying. That it needs to be preserved. And this is seen in the idea of moral decay in society. Whether it is the first century or today, society if left to its own devices will go from bad to worse. Many Christians take this and they put themselves on a pedestal on the moral high ground. Which is true to one extent. But we must see that if degradation and disintegration of our society is taking place, it is not the fault of the world. It's the church and Christians that bear the blame for them not living out their identity as salt of the earth. Just as raw meat if left unseasoned will decay, so too will society. Our job as Christians is not to be cultural commentators, to be culture warriors, we are to be culture presenters and preservers. Preserving the good around us and seeking to slow and stop the decay. Many stances that we disagree with as Christians take an aspect of scripture and dement it. And dement it to places that it should not be. Whether it is DEI, we can wholeheartedly say that we want people of all tribes, tongues and nations to flourish. But we don't want to fall to the sin of partiality. Or with sexuality, we can say wholeheartedly that mutilation is wrong, that sodomy is a sin, but we can still care for those who are struggling with gender dysphoria and sinful proclivities. Not affirming, but ministering. Pointing them to holiness instead of just giving in to their own desires. To encourage them to a life of long suffering. Or even think of the topic of medical assistance in dying. Where people are taking their lives into their own hands, all so that they can have suffering stop. Church, what these people need is a word of hope, a word of care, instead of seeing death as the answer to their grief and their pain. If we feel so strongly as a society that, if we feel so strongly as a church that society is sideways, then I don't think that we should look at our neighbors with disgust. But we, the church, bear the blame for being inactive in our witness and participation in the world. In these statements, Jesus is not calling his followers to a holy huddle. He is calling them to meaningful engagement with the world. Instead of only being cynical and critical of our school system or political parties or workplaces, we should be in those places and spaces being salt. Participating in parent councils, in EDAs, in recreational boards, you name it. I ask you to even think for your life personally, what this could look like. Where is Jesus calling you to live as salt of the earth? If societal disintegration is taking place, I think it has more to say about our inactivity and our lack of saltiness than the world's brokenness. Like raw meat, if left alone, the world will decay. Throughout history, we've seen that the gospel has gone forward with the fact that the world is in the world, and the world is in the world. Throughout history, we've seen that the gospel has gone forth and moral decay has stopped and slowed. Here are two examples. Think of colonial India. Before the British arrived, it was regular practice in Hinduism that if a man died, his wife would be burned alive. This practice was seen as barbaric and wrong, and it led to new laws being put in place as that being outlawed as illegal. Or think of the New Hebrides. I've mentioned this as the island of Vanatu before. It was an island, a nation that was known for cannibalism. But right now, it is the most Presbyterian country in the world. So we should not lose heart and sit and see our nation today and say, it is lost. Instead, would we see that we are to be salt? Jesus goes on to say, if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? He says, it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. Jesus knew that sodium chloride cannot lose its savoriness, its saltiness. He knew that the only way that takes place is that if it is contaminated. And if it's contaminated, it is no longer good for its intended purpose, whether covenantally, flavorfully, or as a preservative. For the uncommitted and contaminated people of Israel, we should see that God did throw them out into exile. He allowed for them to be trampled under nation's feet. And as we think about that, that should serve as a warning to see even in the Sermon on the Mount, even in this declaration of identity, there is warning. As I mentioned last week, Jesus' sermon is Hebrew wisdom literature. And that's seen yet again as the phrase to lose saltiness is a double entendre. It can mean to become foolish. So when we become contaminated, or we are foolish by any means, we have lost our purpose. And so how can this take place? We can be contaminated or be foolish by agreeing that sin is a virtue, or that we can be given to sin ourselves being ineffective or hypocritical in our witness. But we can also be foolish by being nearsighted, being given to navel-gazing, looking at ourselves instead of the world around us. There is a belief that Jesus, as he spoke here, was speaking of the Qumran community. They're the reason that we have the Dead Sea Scrolls. They were known for their seclusion and living in the caves by the Dead Sea, trying to live holy lives. They were even referred to as sons of light at the time. So as I say that, the connection seems to make sense. But what we must see is that too much salt and the removal from society does not lead to life, it leads to death. The Dead Sea is so salty that nothing can survive in it. So would we live as salt of the earth, not secluding ourselves but applying ourselves, being pressed into the meat like good salt to be used, preserving life in the world around us, living out our identities with its works and priorities that it's associated with, leading not just to our own flourishing and our saltiness, but the world as we live in it but not our of it. Church, would we see that these words come to us as a comfort, showing us our identity as salt of the earth, that we are called to preserve life in the places that God has placed us. But also would we see the warning, seeing that if we live uncommitted or contaminated lives, there's consequence. So if you are lacking commitment, if you are contaminated or simply being foolish, either by nearsightedness or blatant disobedience, would you repent today? That you would know the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ afresh, knowing the life that he has called you to in full, being a life preserver, not a life polluter. For those who are not committed to Christ, who are not salt, you can know the transformed life today. From being in a place of decay to a place of life, living and witnessing so that others may know life too. The way that you experience this is by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the one who brings his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, so that life can be preserved, so that life can be as it's intended, not degrading into death and consequences. Because that is what sin brings. So that you would know life and that you could know it today. So would you turn to him in faith today? That you would see Jesus Christ as this good and gracious Savior, that changes lives and preserves life in and through his believers. So we've seen that Jesus calls his followers to be salt, preserving life now. Let us look at our second point, that Jesus calls us to be light, presenting life. Look at me at verses 14 to 16. Jesus here provides a metaphor that is easier to understand at first glance. You are the light of the world. Just as we are called to preserve life in a dying world, we are called to present life to a darkened world. The metaphor of light has to do with holiness, purity, sight, and God's presence. All of these connotations are helpful for us to understand the meaning of these verses. Similar to the couplets of wisdom literature, like the Psalms and the Proverbs, Matthew uses that technique here to clarify and expand the identity of Jesus' covenantal community. Light is the way in which God is described in the Bible, playing off the imagery of darkness being evil and light being good. We see this imagery in tons of popular medium. Think of Star Wars, Harry Potter, the list goes on. Thus, being light is a picture of holiness, reflecting God and being a people of purity. As its connotation towards sight, this is seen in Isaiah 42, 16, where God promises to lead the blind and that he will turn their darkness into light. Without light, quite literally, we cannot see. We need photons to see what is around us. And so if there is true darkness, which is what I believe Jesus is trying to make a cultural comment on, people are walking blind, struggling to walk, to talk, to work and to live. Moral and spiritual blindness is similar to moral decay. It is what God is on a mission to reverse, and he chooses to use his people as active agents in this world for that reversal. Israel was a city to be set on the highest hill. There were to be in Jerusalem, to be in Zion, to be in this nation that all the other nations stream to, to know God, to be a light to the nations. But as we read the scriptures, we know that they failed. Instead of revealing the one true God giving light to the nations, they followed and believed in the false gods of the nations. Thus, Israel was hidden because they were not light at all. They pursued darkness and lived in darkness. This is why Jesus came to make a people of light for himself, that they would come to light and be reflectors of light, so that life would be presented so the blind would see. Matthew earlier has referred to Jesus as light. He's told us that the light has dawned where darkness loomed. Jesus, in John's gospel, speaks to himself in the same way. He says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. John 8, verse 12. As followers of Jesus, we are reflectors of Jesus. Just like the moon simply reflects the sun, so too are we as Christ followers to reflect Christ to this darkened world. To be a city set on a hill is a vantage point when it's subject to warfare. This idea of it being sort of above all and be able to see all. It also means that there's probably attackers, there's probably something to that vantage point. What we should see is that God's covenant community is like this enclave in the midst of enemy territory. That it's to serve as a big light for those who are walking blind. Think of it this way. Similar but different. As a church, we are about an hour away from the most photographed lighthouse in the world, Peggy's Cove. And in Nova Scotia, we are also home to over 160 other lighthouses. And the job of a lighthouse is to give light to ships, to make sure that they do not hit land, to be both a guide and a warning, to be a revelation and a reference. And this is what we as individuals and we corporately are to do as a church. To be guiding, to be warning lights, revealing and referring to light that is not our own. So the world would see that our world would see, so that our neighbors would see, so that our families would see. Because right now, left to their own devices, they are in darkness. Israel hid themselves by turning away from the light, by not living out the identity that God had given them. It is ridiculous to have a lamp and to hide it or to cover it. Think of the first century, they did not have electricity, so they would have lived in utter darkness. And so this ridiculous nature of being covered up is to see the foolishness that is covering up the light of Christ. Maybe you are covering up to fit in. Maybe you are covering up because you are actually pursuing sin and darkness. Because darkness hides in darkness. Maybe you are not fully covering up, but you are simply hitting the dimmer switch so that it is easier on the eyes. Just as Jesus spoke of salt, losing its saltiness as foolishness, he presents light hiding as foolishness. It is meant to be ridiculous. So whether you are playing dress up and putting a basket over your head, or you are pursuing sin, God reminds you of your identity today as a Christ follower, that you are light of the world. Collectively, we are to be a city set on a hill, meant to be used by God to reflect Jesus to the world in our deeds, so that the darkened world would see our Father who is in heaven, and that they would give Him glory. Church, this is not a passive activity. For the world to see, we are to be a people active in good works. We are to be around other people in our community, serving them both individually and collectively. The church has been doing this for hundreds of years. Think of them building schools, hospitals, charities. The list goes on. And I'm not saying that we need to build an institution tomorrow, but what I am saying is that we need to be present in our community, simply caring for our neighbors so that they may see. Maybe this is starting a tutoring program at our church. We are doing good things with EAL, where there is light coming from our lives. Maybe this is like adopting a senior. Or maybe it requires us as a church walking into our neighborhood and knocking on doors and reminding them that a church exists down the hill. And that we care for them, and we'd like to serve them. And as we do that, we are reflecting Christ and revealing the Father in our good works. I think for many of us, we struggle to do this not because we're unwilling, because the Scriptures tell us that the flesh is weak, that we are willing, but the flesh is weak. And more often than not, we fail to present life because we fail to remember our identity as salt and light. It is this perpetual forgetfulness that leads us to, I believe, an inactivity. So now when you hear these words, who are you, or who are we as a church, where does your mind go? Because I believe your identity will dictate how you live. James Clear, in Atomic Habits, a book that is on productivity, actually picks up on this very idea. He says that identity dictates habits. He illustrates this point by giving the example of someone who wants to quit smoking. He gives two responses for this individual refusing a cigarette. The first response is, I'm sorry, I'm trying to quit. The second response is, sorry, I don't smoke. The two responses are drastically different responses. One is a wish, the other is rooted in identity that dictates behavior. Identity dictates how we live, in the small decisions and the large decisions in life. And if we don't see ourselves as salt of the earth and lights of the world, we will not engage in life as God has called us to. To the Christ follower in this room, Jesus says to you today, you are salt of the earth. You are lights of the world. Go and preserve life. Go and present life. That the world may know life in the person of Jesus Christ. To the unbeliever, Jesus calls out to you today that you may know life, that you would no longer live in darkness or in decay, but that you would live in the light, knowing the Father and revealing the Father so that you may give Him glory and lead others to do also. Jesus Christ, the light of the world came into the world to save sinners like you and me, so that we would be His, that we would be salt and light, preserving life and presenting life. And as we do this, may we look to the one who preserves and gives life and life eternal, knowing that it is by Him and through Him that all things sustain, so that we may work in Him and through Him. That many would give glory to our Father who is in Heaven. O Church, may we do this. Let's pray.